Black Ops Assassin Mihoshi
by vsdefender
Summary: Chapter 3: Kiyone discovers Mihoshi's true intentions.
1. Default Chapter

I don't own Tenchi Muyo, any of the characters or any of Washu's crazy inventions for that matter. I'm not exactly sure who owns them but I know that it's distributed in the U.S. by Pioneer. This fanfic is written without the consent of aforementioned owners and yadda yadda yadda.  
  
Note: Before you even read this I want to warn you of two things. First, Mihoshi is 100% completely out of character. That's the whole point of the fic. Second, this fic ignores some of the facts in OAVs. Can't be helped. This fic is merely a "what if" fic and nothing more.   
  
Black Ops Assassin Mihoshi  
  
The Masaki household was in the middle of the mid-day meal when Mihoshi's multi-purpose wrist contraption started beeping.  
  
Ryoko gazed at Mihoshi's wrist. "That thing gets annoying after a while, sometimes I regret fixing it."  
  
Mihoshi pushed away from the table and stood up. "I'm sorry everyone but an emergency has come up." The blonde detective turned to Sasami. "Thanks for a wonderful lunch, princess. I'll be back as soon as I can."  
  
"You're welcome, Mihoshi," Sasami said with a smile. "Please be careful out in space, Mihoshi."  
  
"You can count on me," Mihoshi said as she reached into her hair and retrieved her control cube. With a twist of the cube she was in her Galaxy Police uniform. "Bye everyone." With another twist she was gone from the room.  
  
"It's too bad, her getting called away right in the middle of eating," Sasami said.  
  
"It's ok, Sasami," Tenchi told her. "We can save some leftovers for her and she can have it when she gets back."  
  
Ayeka turned to her sister. "Don't fret, Sasami, I'm sure that Mihoshi will be just fine."  
  
"Yeah, I suppose so," Sasami said. "I just remember what happened the last time Mihoshi went off on an emergency call."  
  
Washu shuddered. "Sasami has a point. Maybe I should keep an eye on Mihoshi. For her own good, of course."  
  
"How are you going to do that?" Ryoko asked.  
  
"It's a good thing that I'm The Greatest Scientific Genius In The Universe!" Washu said with a laugh.  
  
"Here we go again," Ryoko said, rolling her eyes and heaving a sigh.  
  
"Tell me about it," Ayeka agreed.  
  
"I had already been curious about Mihoshi," Washu admitted. "So I bugged her shuttle. It should be a snap to find out what's going on."  
  
"You bugged her shuttle!?" Tenchi exclaimed. "Little Washu, that's an invasion of privacy. Not too mention I'm sure it's against the law to bug an officer's space ship."  
  
"Hey, it's all in the interest of science," Washu said.  
  
"Right, just like having Tenchi tied up without much in the way of clothes on was in the interest of science," Ryoko growled.  
  
"What? You're still upset about that?" Washu asked the blue haired space pirate.  
  
"I could care less what you did with Mihoshi's shuttle," Ryoko said. "Just keep your hands off my Tenchi!"  
  
"Pardon me, monster woman, but he certainly is not "your Tenchi"," Ayeka objected.  
  
"There they go again," Sasami said and sighed.  
  
"They *are* a pain sometimes aren't they, Sasami?" Washu said, watching the growing arguement between the elder princess and the galaxy's most famous ex-criminal. The diminutive scientist took Sasami's hand. "Forget them, we'll keep an eye on Mihoshi ourselves. Ok?"  
  
"Ok," Sasami said. She picked up Ryo-ohki. "You want to help too, don't you, Ryo-ohki?"  
  
"Miya!"  
  
  
  
  
  
Mihoshi appeared in the shuttle's cockpit to find that Yukinojo was already waiting for her.  
  
"Glad to see you could make it in a timely manner this time, Mihoshi," Yukinojo said.  
  
"What's the emergency, Yukinojo?" Mihoshi asked.  
  
"It's a message from headquarters," Yukinojo answered.  
  
"Please play the message for me, Yukinojo," Mihoshi said.  
  
"I'm afraid I can't," the computer AI replied. "The message is marked "ultra top secret". It needs to go through decryption first."  
  
"Top secret, huh?" Mihoshi said, looking down at her wrist computer. "Ok, run the decryption program. While I'm waiting I might as well have some coffee."   
  
Mihoshi twisted the control cube several times. A moment later a cup of coffee materialized in front of the blonde detective.  
  
"Alright, I finally got the cube to materialize me a cup of coffee!"  
  
However, her victory was short lived as she knocked the cup over onto the control console.  
  
  
  
  
In her lab Washu chuckled as she watched Mihoshi spill her coffee. She stopped chuckling when she realized that the coffee had shorted out one of the bugs she had put in the shuttle cockpit.  
  
  
  
  
"Glad to see that you're gracefull as always," Yukinojo said, eyeing the coffee spill.  
  
"I'll go get something to clean the mess up with," Mihoshi said. She turned to leave the cockpit and smashed her knee into her chair.  
  
From there the detective limped out of the cockpit, only to trip at the doorway and smack her head against wall.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I don't believe it," Washu snarled as she watched the feed from two more bugs die.  
  
Fifteen minutes and twenty one bugs later Washu watched the last screen turn to snow.  
  
"That was all of them?" Sasami asked, turning to Washu.  
  
"Yeah, I can hardly believe it myself," Washu said. "How did she manage to knock out all TWENTY FOUR bugs!?"  
  
"She's just lucky, I guess," Sasami said.  
  
"Lucky!?" Washu said, pulling her hair. She called up her holo-computer and began typing.  
  
"There," she said a few minutes later. "I just calculated the odds of Mihoshi knocking out all twenty four bugs by complete accident."  
  
"So, what are they, Washu?" Sasami asked.  
  
"One in two trillion, five hundred sixty eight billion, nine hundred eleven million, seven hundred three thousand, two hundred and twenty eight," Washu replied. "There's no way that it was all accidental."  
  
"So Mihoshi destroyed your bugs on purpose?" Sasami asked. "Why would she do that?"  
  
"Yeah, that's crazy," Washu said. "There's no way that someone as bubbleheaded as Mihoshi has the awareness neccessary to know about those bugs. Nevermind the ability to take them all out intentionally."  
  
"She's something else, huh?" Sasami said.  
  
Washu scratched her chin. "Maybe there really is more to Mihoshi then meets the eye."  
  
"You really think so, Washu?" Sasami asked.  
  
Washu burst out with laughter. "No way! Mihoshi is as clueless as they come. It's *gotta* be all a freak accident."  
  
  
  
  
  
Mihoshi looked at her wrist device. "According to the detector that was the last of them," she told Yukinojo.  
  
"Twenty four bugs. I think that's a bit excessive," the ship AI replied.  
  
"Washu went overboard alright, my knees are killing me," Mihoshi said. "Ok, Yukinojo, please play the message for me."  
  
"Right away, Mihoshi," Yukinojo said.  
  
The screen activated. Mihoshi recognized the sender of the message instantly. It was none other than her grandfather, the Galaxy Police Marshal.  
  
"Hello, Mihoshi. I hope this message finds you doing well an in good health," the Marshal said before pausing for a moment.  
  
The Marshal looked away from the screen for a moment before resuming. "I'm afraid that something very important and very dangerous has developed. Something that requires your expert services. I can't go into detail right now because of the danger that this message could get intercepted. Along with this message Yukinojo should have received set of instructions for a rendezvous. Good luck."  
  
The screen went blank.  
  
Mihoshi turned to Yukinojo's personality interface. "Did you receive the set of instructions he mentioned."  
  
"Yes I did Mihoshi," Yukinojo answered. "Should I put them on screen?"  
  
"Yes, please," Mihoshi said.  
  
Yukinojo promptly complied and Mihoshi read the instructions over carefully and then sighed.  
  
"Planet Carisae, huh? My grandfather has a weird sense of humor," Mihoshi said.  
  
"Carisae? The pirate world?" Yukinojo said.   
  
"Pirate world?" Mihoshi scoffed. "I've been there before. Believe me, there aren't any space pirates there. Drug smugglers and petty cut-throats, yes. Pirates, no."  
  
"Your orders, Mihoshi?" Yukinojo asked.  
  
Mihoshi closed her eyes. "All possible speed to Carisae," the blonde said relunctantly.  
  
  
  
  
Mihoshi stepped out of the shuttlehatch and on to the flat black surface of the shuttle port's landing pad.  
  
"Of course he'd want to meet in the middle of the night," Mihoshi grumbled as she peered into the dark gloom that hung over the shuttle port. "Guess there's no help for it. Might as well get it over with."  
  
Within a few minutes Mihoshi had left the confines of Carisae's small rundown shuttle port and entered an even more run down neighborhood of dives and slumholes. As she was walking down a side street a door to a rather tattered looking beer garden burst open, letting noise, light, smoke and three men escape into the world outside.  
  
Mihoshi walked past, ignoring the three men. She had never been one for enjoying the nightlife, especially on a planet like Carisae. On top of that she wanted to get this meeting with her grandfather over with. These special assignments were never pleasant and always dangerous. In her gut she felt a deep sense of dread. Something told her that this particular assignment was going to be the most difficult of her career and she wanted to confront whatever it was as quickly as possible.  
  
Unfortunately, the three men she walked past were unwilling to ignore her.  
  
"Hey, babe, looking sweet tonight," one of the men, a self-fancied tough said, leering at Mihoshi's backside.  
  
"Shove off, punk," Mihoshi said curtly, not even slowing down. "You definitely don't want any of this."  
  
One of the other men piped up. "Oh, I think we do. We want plenty of that."  
  
Even as Mihoshi kept walking the first man to speak darted forward and grabbed Mihoshi's arm, jerking her backwards.  
  
Mihoshi didn't attempt to resist or even turn around. She simply let herself stumble backwards into her assailant. A split-second later the heel of her boot slammed into his unprotected shin. He went down with a yelp and clutched his shin.   
  
The other two men leapt into action. "That's gonna cost you, slut!" one of them snarled as they rushed her.  
  
She spun around and slammed her knuckles into the throat of the closest attacker. A small smile tugged at her lips as the man stumbled backwards with both hands at his throat.  
  
She ducked a blow from the third attacker that would have shattered her jaw had it connected. She whipped her arm around and a thin wire shot out to wrap itself around her attacker's neck from a small device under Mihoshi's wrist.  
  
All thoughts of attacking the blonde were forgotten as the man tried to free himself from the thin wire.  
  
Mihoshi calmly watched as the man was suddenly on the receiving end of a twenty ampere jolt. The wire obediently retracted even as the man's corpse fell to the ground.  
  
By this time Mihoshi's first attacker had regained his feet. Quickly sizing up the situation he realized the fact that the better part of valor was exactly what was called for.  
  
As he desperately ran away from the blonde Galaxy Police officer she produced a small knife from under her jacket and sent it whipping down the street after the fleeing man.  
  
The would-be attacker cried out as he felt the knife plunge into his back. He managed to take another three steps before collapsing onto the ground.  
  
"That really is some fast acting poison," Mihoshi said with satisfaction as she turned to walk away.  
  
  
  
  
  
Mihoshi looked up at the blinking neon sign. "The Good Times Bar, huh? This is the place alright," she said, rolling her eyes. She stepped off of the curb and walked across the street towards the bar. "Look, I'm having fun already."  
  
Inside the place reeked of stale beer and smoke. She scanned the crowd looking for the person she came to meet. She spotted him in a small booth sitting by himself.  
  
He smiled at her as she sat down on the other side of the booth's small table. "Glad you could make it," he said.  
  
"Sorry I'm a bit late, Grandfather," Mihoshi said. "I had a run-in with a few of the locals."  
  
"Oh? And what did you do?" the Galaxy Police Marshal asked .  
  
"The very first rule in the assassin handbook is to never leave survivors," Mihoshi replied.  
  
"Handbook?" the Marshal said with a chuckle. "I see that your time on Earth hasn't dulled that dry wit." He took a small sip from his drink. "Care for a drink?"  
  
"No thanks," Mihoshi replied. "I'd prefer that we get down to business."  
  
"As you wish," her grandfather said. "Let me start off by saying that this mission comes at the request of the King of Jurai himself."  
  
"Asuza?" Mihoshi said in surprise.  
  
"Yes," her grandfather confirmed. "There have been some recent events that he feels could destabilize Jurai if something isn't done to rectify the situation."  
  
"So, who am I supposed to assassinate this time?" Mihoshi asked.  
  
The Galaxy Police marshal was slightly taken aback. "Right to the knitty gritty, eh? Alright then, I believe you'll recognize the person in this photo." He slid a small envelope across the table to Mihoshi.  
  
She picked up the envelope and pulled out the photo in question. She gasped when she saw the face in the photo. "You can't be serious!"  
  
"Oh, but I'm afraid I am," the Marshal replied mildly.  
  
"But why? He's only a boy," Mihoshi protested. "How is he a threat to Jurai?"  
  
"Surely you should know the answer to that," her grandfather said. "He may be only a boy but he's also a claimant to the throne. One that Asuza doesn't want."  
  
"But..." Mihoshi trailed off with a look from her grandfather.  
  
"So you developed feelings for this boy," the Marshal observed. "Is this going to prevent you from carrying out this assignment?"  
  
Mihoshi felt a chill run down her back and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She knew that her surviving this meeting was dependent on her immediate reaction. "No sir, not at all. I would never let personal feelings get in the way of my professional duty."  
  
"Good girl," the Marshal said with a smile. "Now let us get down to specifics."  
  
Mihoshi nodded and leaned over the table towards her grandfather, scooting herself forward on the booth's benchseat. Even as she listened to the Marshal's instructions the fingers of her right hand were searching a hidden pantspocket.  
  
The Marshal retrieved the envelope and photo and put them back inside an inner pocket inside his jacket. "I'm leaving the particulars of how you pursue this mission up to your discretion. However, there is no need to hurry this. Wait until you can safely eliminate the boy without suspicion falling on you."  
  
Mihoshi nodded. "Yes sir, you can rely on me."  
  
"You also have two secondary targets, the scientist and her daughter," the Galaxy Police marshal said.  
  
"But that's..." Mihoshi said and then went silent. She knew that arguing here would avail nothing and only bring danger to herself.  
  
"Yes, Mihoshi? Please say what's on your mind," the Marshal said.  
  
"But that's going to complicate matters," Mihoshi told him.  
  
"Yes, I know that," her grandfather said. "That's why they are only secondary targets. If it proves impossible to take them out then forget them. Just make sure you take out the boy."  
  
"Yes sir," Mihoshi replied even as her fingers found the object she desired.  
  
"Of the two secondary targets the scientist is the more important one, remember that when the time comes."  
  
"Do you have instructions for what I'm supposed to do when the mission is over?" Mihoshi asked, leaning in over the table even further.  
  
"Yes," her grandfather answered. He looked down at his jacket and reached into a pocket, "They're right..."  
  
The Marshal stopped talking as he felt something jab into his knee. With a sudden realization he looked up at his granddaughter. He lunged forward but it was already too late. His hips hit the edge of the table and he was bounced back onto the benchseat.  
  
"Mihoshi, how could you?"  
  
Mihoshi watched as the Galaxy Police Marshal slumped into the booth seat, held upright by the wall. A quick glance around showed that no one was particularly paying attention to them.  
  
She looked at her grandfather's corpse. "How could *I*? How could *you* ask me to assassinate the people I've come to think of as family?"  
  
She stood up, threw a couple of coins on the table and then walked out of the bar and into the darkness of night.  
  
_________________________  
  
  
There you have it, the first part of what I imagine will be a two parter. Maybe three if I suddenly get wordy. 


	2. Kiyone

I don't own Tenchi Muyo, any of the characters or any of Washu's crazy inventions for that matter. I'm not exactly sure who owns them but I know that it's distributed in the U.S. by Pioneer. This fanfic is written without the consent of aforementioned owners and yadda yadda yadda.  
  
Note: Despite the appearance of Kiyone and the Ultra Energy Matter this fic is not based on the Mihoshi Special. Nor is it based on Tenchi Universe. Rather, think of it as a twisted version of the OVAs.  
  
  
  
Black Ops Assassin Mihoshi  
  
Part Two: Kiyone  
  
  
Within the Galaxy Police's Seventh Head Quarter's main hangar Kiyone was checking Yagami's exterior hull plating for the departure final pre-check when a familiar voice spoke up from behind her.  
  
"Hiya, Kiyone! What's up?"  
  
Kiyone spun around to face someone she hadn't seen in years. "Mihoshi!" she blurted out, almost too shocked for words.  
  
Mihoshi grinned at her ex-partner and offered a small wave. "Long time no see, huh, Kiyone?" The blonde looked the Yagami over. "Nice ship you have here."  
  
"What are you *doing* here!?" Kiyone demanded.  
  
"Why, I just wanted to see you of course," Mihoshi answered with a huge smile plastered across her face. "You're really looking good, Kiyone."  
  
Kiyone was about spit out a nasty retort when Mihoshi threw her arms around the teal haired Detective First Class.  
  
"Kiyone, I really missed you!" The blonde bombshell nuzzled Kiyone's cheek with her own.  
  
It took a heroic effort on Kiyone's part but she finally managed to pry herself out of Mihoshi's grip. "We need to talk. Inside the ship." The dark haired detective pointed at Yagami's entry ramp.  
  
"If you say so." Mihoshi looked at Kiyone doubtfully but followed her meekly into the Yagami.  
  
Once inside the airlock Kiyone waited until the hatch closed and then rounded on Mihoshi. "Okay, you better have one HELL of a good reason to be here, Mihoshi!"  
  
"What do you mean? I already told you that I just wanted..."  
  
"This ship is secure so you can drop the dumb blonde act," Kiyone said tersely.  
  
The confused and hurt look on Mihoshi's face was quickly replaced by a more unreadable expression. "I see, so much for the warm welcome."  
  
"Why are you here?" Kiyone asked, the threat was clear that Mihoshi had better have a good answer. "You're supposed to be on Earth right now seeing to the safety of Jurai."  
  
Inwardly Mihoshi rejoiced. She had been right about Kiyone after all. {How very stupid, Grandfather. Using Kiyone of all people to do your dirty work.}  
  
"Unfortunately, plans have changed," Mihoshi told her ex-partner.  
  
"Changed?" Kiyone asked. "How have they changed?"  
  
"I think I'll let the Marshal answer that," Mihoshi answered as she pulled a data disk from a jacket pocket. "This will answer all your questions."  
  
Kiyone grabbed the disk from Mihoshi and stalked into the Yagami's small bridge where she inserted the disk into the main terminal's reader.  
  
"The code you'll need is..."  
  
"I know what it is!" Kiyone snapped as her fingers flew across the keyboard.   
  
"But, how can you know?" Mihoshi asked. "That's supposed to be..."  
  
"No Black Operative would last very long if he or she only knew what they were supposed to know," Kiyone replied. "Do I look like a fool to you?"  
  
"No, of course not," Mihoshi said. The blonde assassin looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, Kiyone."  
  
Kiyone turned and looked at Mihoshi. "Look, it's no big de.... ARGH! There you go again, stop it!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Stop with the innocent ditz act!" the teal haired Galaxy Police assassin demanded. "If you think that the dumb blonde act is a great cover for being an assassin then that's fine by me. But DON'T use the act on me!"  
  
Kiyone turned back to the terminal and entered a few more keystrokes.  
  
The screen above the terminal came to life. The Marshal's face looked out at the two Black Ops assassins.  
  
"Ah, Kiyone. I'm sure you're wondering why the mission profile has suddenly changed. Unfortunately our employer has gotten very nervous about the success of the mission. On top of that he has made it clear that the primary and secondary targets are to be terminated simultaneously. As this presents a serious complication in our plans it is neccesary for you two to work together.   
  
I don't like this, as I'm sure that you don't either. I would have much rather kept you as an emergency back-up. However, this is the hand we've been dealt, one does not argue with our employer. Not if one wished to keep his or her good health. In any event, I'm sure that you can work together to bring this operation to a successful conclusion.  
  
Also, even though it goes without saying, the safety of our employer's children are of the highest priority. I wouldn't have insulted you by mentioning it but our employer was insistent.  
  
Good luck, Kiyone."  
  
The screen went blank.  
  
"That's great," Kiyone grumbled. "He didn't even bother to come up with a plan for us. Just tosses it in our lap and says, "Here you go." How thoughtful."  
  
Mihoshi favored Kiyone with a look of contempt. "If you can't even figure out how to do a simple assassination then you are certainly in the wrong branch of the Galaxy Police."  
  
"What's simple about this!?" Kiyone snapped. "We're supposed to assassinate a prince of Jurai as well as the galaxy's most dangerous space pirate and the universe's foremost scientific genius while making sure that the other three members of the Royal Family come to no harm. And if we fail then you can expect to earn the wrath of Asuza. Simple indeed!"  
  
"Ok, maybe not simple but it's doable," Mihoshi said. "And there are the two of us to do it which is a big advantage."  
  
"So, you have a plan then?" Kiyone asked.  
  
"As a matter of fact, I do," Mihoshi replied.  
  
  
  
  
Mihoshi sat on the bridge of Yukinojo as she watched the stars slip by.  
  
"Ok, I slaved the Yagami to Yukinojo's controls," came Kiyone's voice over the comm. "I'll transport over now."  
  
A moment later Kiyone appeared on the bridge with her control cube in hand.  
  
"So, let's go over this ingenius plan of yours, Mihoshi," Kiyone said.  
  
"Of course," the blonde replied. "It's very straight forward. When we reach the Earth we'll take Yukinojo's shuttle down to the Masaki house. Using a bit of subterfuge you'll bring Prince Yosho, Princess Ayeka and Princess Sasami back to Yukinojo and I'll stay behind to assassinate Tenchi, Washu and Ryoko."  
  
"Subterfuge?"  
  
"Yes, we'll tell them that..." Mihoshi trailed off as she thought about how they would pry the three from the rest of the group. "Ah! We'll tell them that they need to be inoculated from ... damn! Washu would see through that in a second."  
  
Kiyone gave Mihoshi a look that very plainly said, "I thought *you* were supposed to be a genius."  
  
"Ah, I got it! We'll say that Asuza has a message for the three of them and that they need to board Yukinojo to talk to him." Mihoshi stuck her tongue out at Kiyone.  
  
"And if they insist on doing it groundside?" Kiyone asked. "Doesn't Washu have a lab that could easily do the trick?"  
  
"We'll tell them that the King insisted it was for their eyes only and that they talk to him on Yukinojo," Mihoshi replied.  
  
"Well...."  
  
"If you have a better idea then let's hear it," the blonde bombshell said.  
  
"Do you really think it will work?" Kiyone asked.  
  
"Sure, I've been living with them for a while and they trust me," Mihoshi answered. "Besides, do I look like assassin to you?"  
  
"Okay, now how do you plan on taking out all three targets at once?" Kiyone asked her partner in crime.  
  
"Ah, that's the easy part," Mihoshi said.  
  
"Easy?"  
  
"Yup, ever heard of something called Ultra Energy Matter?" the blonde asked.  
  
"Yeah, I remember something about large quantities of the stuff was stolen a few years back," Kiyone said. "I believe the case was never solved. What about it?"  
  
"The case was never solved because the Marshal didn't want it to be solved," Mihoshi said. "Besides, it would have looked bad for the Galaxy Police to get caught stealing the stuff."  
  
"The Galaxy Police?" Kiyone said, almost choking.  
  
"Sure, we needed to obtain a large quantity of the stuff without it being on the books," Mihoshi said with a smile. "It wasn't too hard to work a deal with some of the more notorious space pirates. We supplied them with the info they needed to hit the Ultra Energy transports and in return they split the Ultra Energy Matter with us fifty fifty."  
  
"You let something as dangerous as Ultra Energy Matter just fall into the hands of space pirates!?" Kiyone asked, outraged.  
  
"Of course not," Mihoshi said with a laugh. "We double crossed them."  
  
"I probably don't need to ask what..."  
  
"Dead men tell no tales," Mihoshi agreed cheerfully.  
  
"What exactly did the Black Ops need a massive supply of Ultra Energy Matter for anyways?" Kiyone asked.  
  
"Well, several years ago the Jurai military was nervous about one it's rivals that was going through a massive military build-up on the Juraian border," Mihoshi explained. "So, a few Black Operators started to stockpile Ultra Energy..."  
  
"Are you saying that Starbase Prospero's destruction was actually a Black Operation?" Kiyone demanded. "I don't believe it, the reports clearly indicate that the starbase's energy core breached, destroyed the starbase and showered half the fleet with deadly radiation."  
  
"You can choose to believe whatever you prefer to believe," Mihoshi said.  
  
"This is all very interesting but I don't see how it...." Kiyone trailed off. "Oh! I see. You have a quantity of Ultra Energy Matter and you intend to use it on this assignment."  
  
"Smart girl," Mihoshi said. "While you take the three royals up to Yukinojo I'll be dirtside using the Ultra Energy Matter to take out the three targets."  
  
"How exactly are you going to do that?" Kiyone asked.  
  
"Setting up an Ultra Energy Matter bomb isn't that difficult," Mihoshi said. "I've done it before. The real trick is making sure that I transport out of the blast area just before it goes off. I have to time it just right because Washu will most likely detect the bomb quickly. Meaning that when I get down there I'll have a limited opportunity to detonate the bomb."  
  
Kiyone mulled the problem over in her mind. "We'll be taking the shuttle down, correct?"  
  
"Yes, I usually park the main body of the ship in orbit around one of the gas giants and use the shuttle to make Earthfall."  
  
"So the bomb will be on the shuttle," Kiyone mused. "Do you think the bomb could be detected on the shuttle?"  
  
"Probably not," Mihoshi said. "The shuttle *is* shielded after all. Hmmm... I see what you're getting at. I should leave the bomb onboard the shuttle until the very last second before you take   
off with Prince Yosho and the two Princesses."  
  
"That still leaves a lot to chance though," Kiyone said.   
  
Leaving things to chance was NOT the way the Black Ops operated.   
  
"We'll just have to make sure that Washu, Ryoko and Tenchi are in Washu's lab where they'll be out of the way when we make planetfall," Mihoshi said. The blonde gave her partner in crime an evil grin. "And I think I know how to do just that."  
  
  
  
  
"You really are quite devious," Kiyone chuckled in admiration as Mihoshi poured herself more sake and leaned back in the couch in what passed for a rec room on Yukinojo.  
  
"That I am," Mihoshi said with pride. She held the bottle out to Kiyone. "Sake?"  
  
"Umm...." Kiyone looked at the bottle.  
  
"Oh, have some," Mihoshi urged. "It won't kill you." So saying, Mihoshi downed the contents of her glass in one go. "See?"  
  
"What's it taste like?" Kiyone asked.  
  
"Awful," Mihoshi said. "But taste is hardly the point of drinking sake."  
  
"Then why..."  
  
"To make your cheeks nice and rosy like mine," Mihoshi said, cutting Kiyone's question off.  
  
Indeed, upon inspecting Mihoshi's face it was plain to see that the blonde was developing a healthy blush.  
  
Kiyone tried a small sip. She spent the next minute hacking, her hand to her throat.  
  
"Not much of a drinker huh?" Mihoshi asked with a chuckle. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it soon enough."  
  
"Where'd you get this?" Kiyone asked as she contemplated taking another swig.  
  
"It's native to Japan, which is where I've been staying during my time on Earth," the blonde assassin said. "That is some quality sake there. I actually stole that from Tenchi's father. He still blames Ryoko." She giggled at the thought.  
  
Thge two of them sat in silence for a few minutes as Kiyone cautiously sipped some sake.  
  
"So, Kiyone, any boyfriends since we last saw each other?" Mihoshi asked.  
  
"A couple," Kiyone admitted. "You?"  
  
"You have to be kidding," Mihoshi chuckled. "No guy in the Galaxy Police wanted to even come close to me. Not with my career looking like it was going down the toilet."  
  
"I find that hard to believe," Kiyone told the blonde. "You might not have known it but back when we were partners all the guys in our section were always drooling over you."  
  
Mihoshi shot the teal haired woman a look. "Give me a break."  
  
"No, it's true," Kiyone insisted. "They were always asking me to set you up with them. I could never understand why anyone, much less the entire male population of the section, would want to date such a bimbo."  
  
"Thanks," Mihoshi said drily.  
  
"Of course you weren't a bimbo at all but I had no way of knowing that at the time," Kiyone said. "Mihoshi, can I ask you something?"  
  
"Sure, I don't promise to answer but ask away," the blonde woman said.  
  
"Do you ever miss the old days of us being partners?"  
  
Mihoshi put a well tanned hand on one of Kiyone's pale hands. "Sometimes I do. There are times when I miss it very much."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"....and then I tol' him, "Why you lil bashturd, I'm gonna charge you by th' hour!" Really 'Hoshi he was a prick," Kiyone told the blonde as she slammed the bottle of sake onto the table.  
  
"That's what you get for dating your Section Leader," Mihoshi replied. "Never mix business with pleasure."  
  
"Some pleasure!" Kiyone grumbled. "An' anyway, I only went on a date with him th' one time. Th' jackass kept on talking on his phone th' whole time we were out. An' I *did* charge him by th' hour for our date, too."  
  
"Did he pay?" Mihoshi asked.  
  
"He sure nuff did," Kiyone said proudly. "An' in more ways than one."  
  
The sound of Mihoshi's laughter was one of the most pleasant sounds that Kiyone heard since....well, since they had last been partners.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Mihoshi looked at the gently snoring Kiyone who was sprawled out on the couch.  
  
"Looks like someone can't handle her booze," Mihoshi said as she stood up and stretched. "Well, it's time for this assassin to hit the sack."  
  
Mihoshi walked over to the room's small closet and retreived a blanket and pillow. She then set about trying make Kiyone as comfortable as possible on the rec room's couch.  
  
Kiyone seemed to partially wake up as Mihoshi stuffed the pillow under the teal haired woman's head.  
  
" 'Hoshi?"  
  
Mihoshi smiled as she tucked the blanket around Kiyone. "Go back to sleep."  
  
Kiyone complied without complaint and her head sank back into the pillow.  
  
Mihoshi crouched next to the sleeping woman and gently brushed Kiyone's hair back off of her forehead. "We really did have some good times back then, didn't we, Kiyone?"  
  
The blonde stood up and gazed down at the sleeping form. {I wonder what we would have thought back then if we could have seen the future and what it had in store for us. I wish things didn't have to be this way but... I'm sorry, Kiyone.}  
  
Then Mihoshi turned and made her way to her cabin. The next few days promised to be the most difficult and dangerous ones of her life and she was going to need all the rest she could get.  
  
She stopped to turn out the light in the rec room, leaving Kiyone in complete darkness.  
  
  
  
  
  
Note: I'm sure that we all have run across those fics where the two Galaxy Police detectives are buzzing around the galaxy in the Yagami and suddenly the fic turns into a Miho-Kiyo lemon.  
  
I could never really understand it because there is almost nothing in Tenchi Universe that indicates that the two have a relationship anything like that. At all.  
  
However, as I was writing this my mind kept coming up with lemon scenes for this chapter which I had to resist. Whatever it is that causes people to write Miho-Kiyo lemons is some strong Mojo-Jojo. Obviously there are a lot of fanfic writers who can't resist the dark Mojo of Miho-Kiyo.  
  
But thankfully I can. 


	3. Bombshell

Black Ops Assassin Mihoshi  
  
Part Three: Bombshell  
  
  
  
Mihoshi walked onto Yukinojo's small bridge bearing two cups of coffee. Kiyone was already there sitting in the command chair. The teal haired woman was there in more of a "supervisory" capacity as Yukinojo was quite capable of piloting the ship in non-crisis situations.  
  
"Good morning, Kiyone," Mihoshi greeted the other woman. "Sleep well?"  
  
"Well, I had a slight hangover when I got up," Kiyone admitted. "But other than that I feel fine. Sorry for passing out on you last night."  
  
"It's no big deal," Mihoshi assured her ex-partner. "Anyways, I figured you might need this." She handed Kiyone a cup of coffee.  
  
"Thanks," said a grateful Kiyone as she wrapped her fingers around the warm coffee mug.  
  
Mihoshi puttered around the bridge, checking various readouts and looking up the navigation charts. "So, all's quiet on the Western Front I take it?"  
  
"Pardon?" a confused Kiyone said.  
  
"Sorry, it's an old Earth expression. I was just observing that nothing of interest is happening."  
  
"Nope, nothing at all," Kiyone confirmed. "Which is just the way I like it."  
  
"The best assassinations are the boring ones," Mihoshi said, giving the other woman a grin.  
  
"Can't say I ever had a boring assignment," Kiyone replied. "Didn't know there even was such a thing."  
  
"Oh, there is," Mihoshi confirmed. "I know from first hand experience."  
  
"A boring assassination?" Kiyone said. "This I have to hear."  
  
"Actually, it wasn't an assassination assignment, as such," Mihoshi told her. "But it *was* a job straight from the Dirty Tricks Department. The Galactic Trade Commission had been in negotiations with some of the galaxy's major players to open more trade routes throughout the galaxy. Of course I don't need to tell you that the Trade Commission is more or less dominated by Jurai and has been for quite some time."  
  
"It always seems to come back to Jurai," Kiyone commented.  
  
"That's exactly right, if you want to succeed in the Galaxy Police you'd better learn which side your bread is buttered on and you'd better do it early in your career," Mihoshi said in agreement. "Anyways, the Trade Commission was having little luck in these negotiations. There's a lot of resentment of Juraian power and influence in the galaxy at large and some of those major players were determined to limit the influence of the Trade Commission and thereby the influence of Jurai."  
  
"And that involved you in some way?"  
  
"Yes, the anti-Jurai faction was headed by an elderly statesman from one of Jurai's rivals and I was given the assignment."  
  
"To assassinate him," Kiyone said flatly.  
  
"Oh no, not at all," Mihoshi replied. "An assassination would have been ineffective. Indeed, it would have most likely made the Trade Commission's efforts even that more difficult. As well as created a galactic incident that could possibly have brought Jurai into war."  
  
"So what was your job then?" Kiyone asked.  
  
"Simple, I was to dig up all the dirt I could on the old guy and then leak it to the press," Mihoshi answered. "Grandfather figured that a big enough scandal would make the old geezer dissappear."  
  
Kiyone certainly didn't remember anything important having to do with the Galactic Trade Commission but then things like trade policy struck her as monumentally dry and boring. She likely wouldn't have remembered the events in any case.  
  
Mihoshi's next words echoed Kiyone's thoughts. "My cover for the operation was pretty simple. I was an investigative reporter with the All Jurai News. Let me tell you, I'm surprised that those trade representatives don't kick off from sheer boredom. I had to sit through speech after speech listening to a bunch of old windbags drone on about planetary money supplies, economic impact studies, laws of supply and demand and just about anything else that's boring as hell to listen to.  
  
Anyways, like I said, my job was to dig up dirt on the old geezer and dig I did. I researched his life with a fine tooth comb. I left no stone unturned in my search for smut, you would have been proud, Kiyone."  
  
"And came up with some juicy stuff I assume," Kiyone said.  
  
Mihoshi sighed. "That's just it, there was nothing at all to dig up. The old fart was completely clean. And I mean *completely*. It was frustrating as hell but there wasn't even the slightest bit of dirt to dig up on him. Not so much as a speck of dust."  
  
"Maybe he was just really good at covering up his nasty little secrets," Kiyone offered.  
  
Mihoshi shook her head. "*Nobody* is that good. He never cheated on his wife. Never took any bribes. Never accepted questionable gifts from corperate types looking for special favors. Didn't even indulge in a bit of nepotism."  
  
"Unlike your grandfather," Kiyone chuckled.  
  
"Are you saying that I don't carry my own weight as a Black Operative?" Mihoshi asked dangerously, shooting Kiyone a look that the green haired Galaxy Police officer found chilling.  
  
"It's just a joke, Mihoshi," Kiyone protested weakly. "Anyways, so what happened then?"  
  
"I was about to take matters into my own hands and off the old geezer," Mihoshi answered. "I knew that Grandfather would have a fit of apoplexy but by that point I didn't care. I just needed to vent my frustrations. So I was all set to do the dirty deed and then...."  
  
"And then?" Kiyone prompted.  
  
"And then he up and died," Mihoshi continued. "One moment he's making a three hour speech that had the end result of telling why the Juraians should go jam their thumbs up thier collective ass and the next moment he's toppling over stone cold dead."  
  
"Somebody else got to him first," Kiyone said, hazarding a guess.  
  
"Nope, the autopsy ruled out foul play," the blonde told her. "It was just a stupid accident."  
  
"Accident?"  
  
"Yeah, it turned out he had bored himself to death," Mihoshi said.  
  
Kiyone remained silent but rolled her eyes.  
  
Mihoshi shrugged. "What can I say? He was old. Old people die. He died of "natural causes"."  
  
"So happened after that?" Kiyone asked.  
  
"I "retired" from the investigative reporting industry and went home," Mihoshi said. "No way was I going to go through the tedium of his funeral. Grandfather was upset of course but I told him that if it was so important he could go take care of it his damn self."  
  
  
  
  
Kiyone turned as Mihoshi stepped onto Yukinojo's small bridge.  
  
"All done," the blonde said cheerfully.  
  
"Done?" Kiyone said. "Done with what?"  
  
"The Ultra Energy Matter bomb of course, silly," Mihoshi answered.  
  
"So where is this bomb of yours? I'd like to get a look at it," the green haired Blacks Op assassin said.  
  
"You *are* looking at it," Mihoshi replied, raising a hand to her jacket collar. "This jacket is the bomb in question. Pretty clever huh?"  
  
"You're going to *wear* the bomb?" Kiyone asked, astounded.  
  
"Well, sure," Mihoshi answered. "I'll go into Washu's lab, take off my jacket, transport out and then detonate the bomb remotely."  
  
"Sounds like a simple plan," Kiyone said.  
  
"Simple plans are the easiest not to screw up," Mihoshi said with a nod.  
  
  
  
  
  
Mihoshi closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair in her small room. This game she was playing with Kiyone was a lot harder than she originally thought it would be. The worry that Kiyone would somehow deduce the truth constantly knawed away at the back of her mind. Unlike the plan she had outlined for Kiyone there was nothing simple at all about Mihoshi's true mission.  
  
Mihoshi sighed. Soon enough it would all be resolved for good or for ill. Until then she would just have to wait it....  
  
It was at that point in her musings that ship's intercom came to life. "Mihoshi, you better get your ass to the bridge!" Kiyone fairly shouted over the intercom. "Something terrible has happened. You need to see this."  
  
When Mihoshi burst onto the bridge several panicky moments later she noticed that Yukinojo's AI module was had descended from it's compartment and was decidedly agitated. Which apparently wasn't helping Kiyone's state of mind any Mihoshi noted.  
  
"So what's the big emergency?" Mihoshi asked the green haired girl.  
  
Kiyone turned to face Mihoshi. "It's your grandfather, they found his body on the planet Carisae."  
  
"My Grandfather?" Mishoshi said with a horrified look. {Crap, they identified the body that quickly?}  
  
"It's true, Mihoshi," Yukinojo said. "The Galaxy Police brass are keeping a lid on it but I've just intercepted com traffic from authorities on Carisae confirming that they've been in possession of the body for the last three days."  
  
"Three days!?" Kiyone exclaimed. "But how is that possible?" The assassin turned to Mihoshi for an explaination.  
  
{Well, the shit has truly went and hit the fan,} Mihoshi thought as she drew her her service issue Galaxy Police blaster in one easy graceful movement and fired.  
  
The next moment the blonde assassin slammed into floor under the force of being tackled by Kiyone even as Yukinojo's AI module exploded in a wreckage of flaming debris. The blonde's service issue blaster went skittering across the floor of the bridge. The bridge's fire extinguishers instantly doused the smouldering remains of the ship's AI unit with jets of foam at the same that Kiyone attempted to smash her knuckles into Mihoshi's throat only to have her strike blocked by the blonde's forearm.  
  
Kiyone gasped as Mihoshi managed to knee her in the stomach, knocking the green haired assassin off of the blonde. Kiyone rolled away and quickly scrambled to her feet to face Mihoshi who had also gained her feet.  
  
Kiyone smiled. "I had always wondered which one of us was truly better. I had no idea that someday I would actually get a chance to find out. I should thank you."  
  
Mihoshi remained silent, her mouth pressed into a tight grimace as she tried to anticipate Kiyone's next move.  
  
The blonde didn't have to wait long. Faster than the eye could see Kiyone flicked her wrist, deftly sending her deadly little yoyo towards Mihoshi's throat.  
  
Mihoshi leaned back away from the approaching weapon as she swung her left arm into the yoyo's line. The yoyo wrapped itself around Mihoshi's arm as she yanked her arm back, pulling Kiyone off balance. As the green haired girl fell forward the blonde kicked out with her foot and caught her opponent in the side.  
  
With a yelp Kiyone twisted away from Mihoshi and pulled on the line that was wrapped around Mihoshi's arm. The yoyo line cut through the sleeve of Mihoshi's jacket and into her flesh. Mihoshi hissed in pain as she felt the line slice into her arm.  
  
The blonde scrambled forward in an attempt to relieve the pressure on her arm. Kiyone, anticipating the move, twisted violently and caught Mihoshi in the side of the head with her elbow.  
  
Mihoshi rolled with the force of the blow and landed with her back on the floor, her left arm held in the air by the line. Suddenly stars seemed to explode before her eyes as Kiyone's boot connected with her head.   
  
Mihoshi slumped to the floor, blood running from the side of her head.  
  
Kiyone let her end of the yoyo slide off her finger. "That was *too* easy. I was expecting more of a fight. So much for the "greatest assassin in the Black Ops"." The green haired assassin spotted Mihoshi's blaster and picked the weapon up.  
  
She pointed the weapon at Mihoshi's prone form. "How fitting that she die from being shot by her own weapon," she said as she pressed the trigger.  
  
The last thing Kiyone saw was the flash of light as the Galaxy Police blaster exploded in her hand.  
  
  
  
  
Kiyone slowly opened her eyes. And quickly closed them again before blinking rapidly in an effort to get her eyes to focus correctly. When her eyes focused to the point where she could see reasonably well she found herself staring at the ceiling of Yukinojo's small sick ward.  
  
"Ah, glad to see you're still among the living," came the cheerful voice of Mihoshi Kuramitsu.  
  
Kiyone tried to sit up to look for the source of the voice but quickly found out that she was restained to the bed she was lying in. She suddenly remember the blaster and looked down at her right arm. Her right arm was encased in a medical pressure sleeve, the end rolled up and fastened together distressingly close to her elbow. She felt a dark horror growing inside her.  
  
Mihoshi saw Kiyone glance at her arm and the bleak look on the green haired girl's face. "It's not that bad," the blonde chided her former partner. "You'll be back to normal in a few weeks at most. It could be worse, you could be dead."  
  
"I don't understand," Kiyone said. "Your blaster, how did you...."  
  
"You really should know better than use someone else's equipment," Mihoshi replied lightly.  
  
"But I checked your blaster before hand just for this type of situation and it was completely safe," Kiyone protested.  
  
"Ah, what you checked was *this* blaster," Mihoshi said with a mocking smile as she held up a Galaxy Police blaster for Kiyone to see.  
  
"Oh, hell," Kiyone said in disgust at her own stupidity. As Mihoshi turned away Kiyone saw that the blonde was also wearing a medical pressure sleeve, the difference being that Mihoshi wore a full sleeve and it was on her left arm.  
  
"That yoyo of yours really messed up my arm," Mihoshi said as if reading Kiyone's mind. "Getting that wire back out without doing more damage was a pain in the ass. Or a pain in the arm to be precise. As it was you almost had the whole damn thing off."  
  
"Why didn't you kill me?" asked a confused Kiyone.  
  
"Today's your lucky day," the blonde answered. "Maybe you could say it's for old times sake. Anyways, that's not important. Look, I've set Yukinojo to run on auto-pilot for the next twenty four hours. At that point the ship will drop back into normal space, jettison it's reactor core and transmit a distress signal on all channels. With any luck someone will come by to rescue you."  
  
"You mean you're going to leave me tied down to this bed?" Kiyone asked.  
  
"Yup," Mihoshi answered. "Sorry but it can't be helped. I can't risk you doing something to interfere with my plans."  
  
"To assassinate the Emperor of Jurai," Kiyone said flatly. "Your grandfather was right to suspect that you let a personal relationship get in the way of your job."  
  
"It's easy for you to criticize," the blonde said. "You're so cold hearted that I doubt you even *have* any personal feelings."  
  
"You don't honestly think you're going actually assassinate Asuza Jurai do you?" the green haired Galaxy Police officer asked. "Your makeshift little Ultra Energy Matter bomb won't fool them for a second."  
  
The blonde just smiled. "Ah, but it will, my dear Kiyone. You're absolutely right. No doubt the Palace Security will detect this bomb within seconds of me being on the Palace grounds. But there is another bomb I think they'll be overlooking even as they discover the bomb in my jacket."  
  
"Good bluff," Kiyone sneered. "But somehow I doubt it."  
  
Mihoshi shrugged off her uniform jacket and the white shirt underneath.   
  
"What do you think you're doing!?" Kiyone demanded as the blonde stood before her naked from the waist up except for her bra. A long scar ran up Mihoshi's side from above the hip all the way to just below her breast.  
  
Mihoshi smiled as she traced a finger along the scar," Well, I've been called a bombshell before. Now I really am one." She leaned over and put her mouth next to Kiyone's ear. "Boom." 


End file.
